WESTWORLD SEASON 1: THE FULL COLLECTION, EPISODES 1-10 (7.3 AVERAGE)
Westworld - 1x01 "The Original"
"One of the Hosts malfunctions and slaughters a number of others. Westworld staff try to figure out why the malfunction occurred, whilst a number of Newcomers live out violent and tawdry fantasies with bandits and prostitutes."
There's so much to say about Westworld's premiere - and yet so little to say. So much happened over the course of the 70 minutes - and yet so little happened. We were introduced to a lot of the rules of the world - ie the Hosts cannot harm the Newcomers (the rich people paying to roam this fake world cannot be hurt by its fake inhabitants) - and shown multiple scenarios of the innumerable loop narratives that the Hosts are programmed to follow. Meanwhile, the director of Westworld, Robert Ford (played by the incredible Anthony Hopkins), has been adapting some of the Hosts' code to make them even more lifelike, and the update has inadvertently caused one to malfunction and kill other Hosts. At the end of the episode, the glitch was written off by Ford as fragments of the Host's former personalities, but the final scene shows us that that is not all that is going wrong.
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| The Westworld map |
I've given my thoughts numerous times on the effectiveness of the 40-minute broadcast network format compared to hour-long formats, and Westworld doesn't have me wavering from that viewpoint. The premiere was slow - part of which stems from the premiere settling the audience into the loop narrative world of the Hosts, and the gradual realisation of an issue with Ford's update - when it could have been a little better paced, but when the ante was upped there was blood galore and the plot had a number of decent twists to keep us in suspense. The graphics were also stupendous.
I can't finish this analysis without mentioning the unbelievable acting, mostly of those actors and actresses who played Hosts. For a human to act well enough to sell to the audience they are robots is deserving of serious credit. Evan Rachel Wood, in her portrayal of Dolores Abernathy, was especially remarkable.
VIEWERS: 1.963m (Adding HBO Go and HBO Now [which HBO does], it's overnights rise to 3.3m, comparable to True Detective's premiere. Alone, these compare closely with Game of Thrones back in the day. An instant hit)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8 (I don't know how representative this is of HBO shows, but it bested everything else HBO that night and was only behind two other cable shows: Big Bang Theory and Fear the Walking Dead. Must be brilliant)
VERDICT: Over-long and without a valid excuse or reason; the lazy 70 minutes did nothing more than set up a concept that could have been more effectively condensed into a broadcast timeframe. However, there is bags of potential from all angles: the acting, the graphics, the writing and of course the incredible crew. But the episode itself? 6.5/10
Westworld - 1x02 "Chestnut"
"More Newcomers arrive at Westworld as another of the Hosts, the brothel madam Maeve, begins to glitch and recall visions of her past personalities. The Man in Black continues to search for the game's hidden meaning and Lee's new narrative is vetoed by Ford, who intends to implement one of his own."
With the overarching storylines in place after the slow premiere, the plot of "Chestnut" felt slicker and tighter. Part of that was it was shorter, at just under an hour; another part was a distinct lack of Dolores Abernathy, who after being the main focus of the premiere was sidelined to give some of the other ensemble the limelight. Maeve was probably the biggest beneficiary of that move, which was a good one since her renown and adaptability gave us a much deeper insight into the way Westworld worked.
That theme of exploring Westworld from inside rather than outside was set up even before we saw Maeve, however, when Newcomers William (Jimmi Simpson) and Logan (Ben Barnes) arrived: the latter a Westworld veteran with hedonistic desires and the former a first-timer overwhelmed by the world he had entered. Simpson's wondrous but cautious exploration was some of the best acting of the hour.
Finally, all through this better-paced episode, as we saw the glitches continue, Newcomers explore and Westworld staff set up new narratives for the Hosts, the Man in Black returned to continue his murderous search for "the maze", a hidden level of Westworld. At the moment he is the most unpredictable factor in the show and therefore one of the most important: until the mythology deepens and the crescendo rises later on in the season, he will be the main source of tension.
VIEWERS: 1.49m (Nearly all Sunday shows took a hit due to the Presidential debate, so this isn't reflective of Westworld's predicted performance.)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7 (Down a tenth from the premiere. Nothing bad here)
VERDICT: Losing ten minutes and spreading the focus from Dolores to other cast members dramatically increased the quality of the show. A mythology-widening episode that was quite addictive. 7.5/10
This episode was all about reaction, both seen and unseen. The biggest example of this is Dolores, who is given to the audience as a lens through which to recognise the worsening glitches because we have intimate knowledge of her general loop narrative. Again we see her heading to her horse and dropping a can from the knapsack and again we see bandits kidnap and attempt to rape her, but she begins to see the old Host who was programmed to be her father as well as the new one, glitches between the Man in Black and one of the bandits as her rapist, and even appears to reset after being shot and escapes unscathed. The gun she found in the previous episode returns, and the increasing destabilisation of Hosts leads to Bernard having serious conversations with her about her programming and response systems. The over-focus on Dolores in the premiere is paying off, as our deep understanding of her made this storyline easy to follow.
Throughout it all, Ford's attempts to alter other Hosts' narratives is creating more problems, both in the park and for the unseen board members: his main alteration is to Teddy's programming, so that he now heads off to hunt a bad guy named Wyatt instead of remain local to the main park. Meanwhile, another Host goes stray and Elsie (Bernard's assistant) and Stubbs (Head of Security) have to track him down - but when they find him the Host kills himself.
"The Stray" is a light tempo depiction of pure chaos: while Guests like William and Logan ride around in the background enjoying their $40,000 per day experience, the number of Hosts around them that glitch is increasing quickly. These glitching Hosts are yet to interact with the Guests, but that is surely on the horizon - and it's going to be brilliant.
There was a sad lack of Charlotte, the creepy Host who introduced William to Westworld, the glitching brothel madam Maeve, and the Man in Black with his mission to find "the maze", but the latter will surely return in the next episode.
Westworld - 1x03 "The Stray"
"Ford begins altering some Hosts' narratives, including Teddy, whom he sends to join a hunting posse. Bernard continues to worry about the glitches in consciousness with the Hosts. William and Logan go off on a quest, while Elsie and Stubbs track a stray Host."
This episode was all about reaction, both seen and unseen. The biggest example of this is Dolores, who is given to the audience as a lens through which to recognise the worsening glitches because we have intimate knowledge of her general loop narrative. Again we see her heading to her horse and dropping a can from the knapsack and again we see bandits kidnap and attempt to rape her, but she begins to see the old Host who was programmed to be her father as well as the new one, glitches between the Man in Black and one of the bandits as her rapist, and even appears to reset after being shot and escapes unscathed. The gun she found in the previous episode returns, and the increasing destabilisation of Hosts leads to Bernard having serious conversations with her about her programming and response systems. The over-focus on Dolores in the premiere is paying off, as our deep understanding of her made this storyline easy to follow.
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| Dolores reading Alice in Wonderland |
"The Stray" is a light tempo depiction of pure chaos: while Guests like William and Logan ride around in the background enjoying their $40,000 per day experience, the number of Hosts around them that glitch is increasing quickly. These glitching Hosts are yet to interact with the Guests, but that is surely on the horizon - and it's going to be brilliant.
There was a sad lack of Charlotte, the creepy Host who introduced William to Westworld, the glitching brothel madam Maeve, and the Man in Black with his mission to find "the maze", but the latter will surely return in the next episode.
VIEWERS: 2.1m (series high)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.9 (series high)
VERDICT: Focused more on the glitches than deepening the mythology. A Dolores focus was warranted and done better than the premiere, but it still doesn't prove as satisfying as the ensemble second episode. 7.5/10
If any of the audience weren't aware that Guests couldn't die before this episode, then this is one they should pay attention to, as we are reminded of that rule nearly every scene. The Man in Black, whose cameo appearance last week was offset by over-indulging him with airtime this week, seemed to revel in his immortality within the Westworld game; elsewhere, Logan had no problems reminding William that they can't come to any harm and should therefore just do what they like.
But there was nothing overly compelling about "Dissonance Theory". It had a ton of blood and "killing", but by this point it's there for shock value rather than story; meanwhile, the focus was so sharply on the inside of Westworld that the larger political machinations became background, with Anthony Hopkins again getting barely any scenes. Even Stubbs's appearance amounted to nothing more than reminders that the Hosts are going off-course.
It's clear there's a growing story but the slow burn isn't working for me. There's so much to say and yet so little, and in between all of it the biggest issue is the quiet amble this first half of the season is taking. The promos promised breathtaking and action-packed, but so far it's been drawn-out and dull.
VERDICT: The slow tempo is becoming a drag, tainting the decent storytelling and acting that each week provides. 6.5/10
Westworld's complexity and mythology deepens with every episode that passes, and at its halfway point the tension is starting to rise. A focus on the quests of the Man in Black and William, Logan and Dolores brought a lot of action and showed more to the world than the Sweetwater village that has been the main setting before now. The Man in Black continued on his quest, killing Lawrence and using his blood to transfuse the dying Teddy, but Ford, who entered the game to meet him later on, refused to block the Man in Black's quest to find the Maze - perhaps because Ford is curious as to his long-dead partner and co-founder Arnold's hidden messages. At least, I think that's what the scene meant. I found it hard to understand, but it was nonetheless a weighty scene.
Elsewhere, William, Logan and Dolores met El Lazo, an associate of Slim, who transpired to be Lawrence. This potentially gives credence to something I'll mention later. But anyway, at this point I've kind of lost track of what William and Logan's actual mission is, and why they still have Dolores hanging on, but the nitroglycerine raid and the double crossing of ex-Confederate soldiers made for some spicy action, in the tensest episode yet.
It's worth mentioning Elsie's search for answers as to why the Host glitched a while back and killed itself, and her realising it was being used to feed info out of the park sets up an unexpected and dark twist. There was also little of Bernard (whether that worked or not I don't know).
A question I've been pondering the last couple of episodes was expanded today: if Dolores is so relevant to William and Logan's quest, then when/how was she continually removed from the game by Ford/Bernard without their noticing? When other Hosts have glitched so far, they have been removed without consequence, but this wouldn't be the case with Dolores. ScreenerTV posits that there are two Dolores's, and I think that would make perfect sense. So ... two Lawrences? ScreenerTV also recently posited that Bernard might be a robot, and his movement and mannerisms in his singular scene today certainly seemed static.
VIEWERS: 1.485m (Hovering between here and 2m is solid)
Westworld - 1x04 "Dissonance Theory"
"Despite pressure from Theresa and the board, Ford presses ahead with constructing his costly and time-consuming new narrative. William and Logan take Dolores with them on their quest to find Slim. Maeve discovers her world is a lie, while the Man in Black breaks Hector out of prison and meets with a tattooed woman to further his quest to find 'The Maze'."
If any of the audience weren't aware that Guests couldn't die before this episode, then this is one they should pay attention to, as we are reminded of that rule nearly every scene. The Man in Black, whose cameo appearance last week was offset by over-indulging him with airtime this week, seemed to revel in his immortality within the Westworld game; elsewhere, Logan had no problems reminding William that they can't come to any harm and should therefore just do what they like.
But there was nothing overly compelling about "Dissonance Theory". It had a ton of blood and "killing", but by this point it's there for shock value rather than story; meanwhile, the focus was so sharply on the inside of Westworld that the larger political machinations became background, with Anthony Hopkins again getting barely any scenes. Even Stubbs's appearance amounted to nothing more than reminders that the Hosts are going off-course.
It's clear there's a growing story but the slow burn isn't working for me. There's so much to say and yet so little, and in between all of it the biggest issue is the quiet amble this first half of the season is taking. The promos promised breathtaking and action-packed, but so far it's been drawn-out and dull.
VIEWERS: 1.698m (Took a sizeable hit due to The Walking Dead premiere, but still huge numbers)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7 (Matches its series low, but is still seriously high for HBO)
Westworld - 1x05 "Contrapasso"
"The Man in Black kills Lawrence and continues his journey with Teddy in tow. Elsie discovers the Host who tried to kill her has a satellite relay built under his skin. Dolores, William and Logan reach an outlying city on their quest and meet El Lazo, who tasks them with retrieving nitroglycerine from a wagon. Ford visits the Man in Black."
Westworld's complexity and mythology deepens with every episode that passes, and at its halfway point the tension is starting to rise. A focus on the quests of the Man in Black and William, Logan and Dolores brought a lot of action and showed more to the world than the Sweetwater village that has been the main setting before now. The Man in Black continued on his quest, killing Lawrence and using his blood to transfuse the dying Teddy, but Ford, who entered the game to meet him later on, refused to block the Man in Black's quest to find the Maze - perhaps because Ford is curious as to his long-dead partner and co-founder Arnold's hidden messages. At least, I think that's what the scene meant. I found it hard to understand, but it was nonetheless a weighty scene.
Elsewhere, William, Logan and Dolores met El Lazo, an associate of Slim, who transpired to be Lawrence. This potentially gives credence to something I'll mention later. But anyway, at this point I've kind of lost track of what William and Logan's actual mission is, and why they still have Dolores hanging on, but the nitroglycerine raid and the double crossing of ex-Confederate soldiers made for some spicy action, in the tensest episode yet.
It's worth mentioning Elsie's search for answers as to why the Host glitched a while back and killed itself, and her realising it was being used to feed info out of the park sets up an unexpected and dark twist. There was also little of Bernard (whether that worked or not I don't know).
A question I've been pondering the last couple of episodes was expanded today: if Dolores is so relevant to William and Logan's quest, then when/how was she continually removed from the game by Ford/Bernard without their noticing? When other Hosts have glitched so far, they have been removed without consequence, but this wouldn't be the case with Dolores. ScreenerTV posits that there are two Dolores's, and I think that would make perfect sense. So ... two Lawrences? ScreenerTV also recently posited that Bernard might be a robot, and his movement and mannerisms in his singular scene today certainly seemed static.
VIEWERS: 1.485m (Hovering between here and 2m is solid)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.6 (Series low this week comparatively but not troubling)
VERDICT: Things are starting to hot up, but following the show is becoming more difficult. I'll have to knock a point off for that. 7/10
The focus of the show keeps flitting between the storylines inside the park - such as Dolores, William and Logan - and those outside of it, such as Bernard and the technicians. In "The Adversary", the latter focus was adopted and the story was much better for it. Bernard continued his investigations into the Host anomalies (I'm still convinced he's going to turn out a robot), while Elsie's discovery that Theresa Cullen, the Head of Operations, was the one smuggling data out of the park seems to have been revealed much too easily. I'm certain it's a frame-up, and that the real culprit (who assaulted Elsie at the end of the episode - shocker) will be someone clever enough to avoid detection. Perhaps Lee, the Head of Narrative, whose disillusionment with Westworld following Ford's rejection of his narrative leads to him getting drunk and pissing on the control centre - in full view of a visitor he had previously attempted to seduce, who transpired to be Charlotte Hale, one of the Westworld board members.
Ford's secret Host family in the disused Sector 17 keeps things plodding along interestingly, but the Man in Black and Teddy passing through the Union Army outpost was a rather dull sideplot. The Man in Black's arc has stagnated recently and I don't find it intriguing anymore - not when all of the technological problems, such as Maeve's self-awareness and the voices the Hosts keep hearing, all link back to Ford's mysterious, presumed-dead partner Arnold. I wouldn't be shocked if Arnold was later revealed to be alive, but I'd be hugely disappointed.
Westworld - 1x06 "The Adversary"
"Maeve, now conscious of her false reality, tests its limits, and in her next meeting with the technicians demands alterations to her attribute coding - which only reveals a disturbing secret. The Man in Black and Teddy try to pass a garrison but Teddy is recognised and a fight breaks out. Elsie discovers the tracker's origins, while Bernard finds Ford in a disused sector of the park with Hosts with original programming."
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| Maeve convinces Felix to give her a tour of the Westworld facility |
Ford's secret Host family in the disused Sector 17 keeps things plodding along interestingly, but the Man in Black and Teddy passing through the Union Army outpost was a rather dull sideplot. The Man in Black's arc has stagnated recently and I don't find it intriguing anymore - not when all of the technological problems, such as Maeve's self-awareness and the voices the Hosts keep hearing, all link back to Ford's mysterious, presumed-dead partner Arnold. I wouldn't be shocked if Arnold was later revealed to be alive, but I'd be hugely disappointed.
VIEWERS: 1.637m (A small uptick back to a decent middle ground)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.7 (Up a tenth)
VERDICT: Seeing the outside of the park is always more fun than the inside, and now that I actually care for some of these characters I'm more inclined to enjoy the dangerous situations they continually find themselves in. 7.5/10
Now that the glitching Hosts storyline is well underway, the overarching consequences are beginning to show. The face of those consequences: Charlotte Hale. She's cute, she's sweet - and she's super conniving. She likes to intimidate even those she plans to have work under the new regime, as exampled by her inviting Theresa to meet her at the same time she is shagging one of the Hosts. Nothing says I'm powerful and super-confident like a boss who calls her staff to heel while she's sampling the merchandise.
Hale appeared briefly in the previous episode when she arrived at Westworld, but now it seems we at least know why Theresa was committing corporate espionage: Delos wanted backups of the Hosts' programming and Ford wouldn't give it to them. That wasn't the direction I expected this to go in, so it was a good if anticlimactic twist.
But nothing could prepare us for the final scene.
Bernard was revealed to indeed be a Host - and his confusion and denial was so superb I almost felt sorry for him - right before Ford triggered a part of Bernard's programming that turned him into a cold-blooded killer. Good night Theresa. Now we'll see how adaptable Hale is.
Elsewhere, Maeve's storyline is heading towards chaos: now that she knows what Westworld is, she blackmails the techs into helping her escape. That will lead to a colossal crescendo sometime down the line. Contrastingly, William and Dolores ride off into the sunset, and although Lawrence forewarned them of trouble that lay where they were headed, they're in no immediate danger and this storyline's conclusion is therefore more open than the others. Anything could await them.
No Man in Black. Almost forgot about him. Ah well. Maybe next time.
Westworld - 1x07 "Trompe L'Oeil"
"Charlotte Hale, Delos board member, begins her plan to overthrow Ford. Meanwhile, William and Dolores split from El Lazo, Maeve threatens to kill the techs if they don't help her escape and a secret is revealed about Bernard."
Now that the glitching Hosts storyline is well underway, the overarching consequences are beginning to show. The face of those consequences: Charlotte Hale. She's cute, she's sweet - and she's super conniving. She likes to intimidate even those she plans to have work under the new regime, as exampled by her inviting Theresa to meet her at the same time she is shagging one of the Hosts. Nothing says I'm powerful and super-confident like a boss who calls her staff to heel while she's sampling the merchandise.
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| Bernard kills Theresa |
But nothing could prepare us for the final scene.
Bernard was revealed to indeed be a Host - and his confusion and denial was so superb I almost felt sorry for him - right before Ford triggered a part of Bernard's programming that turned him into a cold-blooded killer. Good night Theresa. Now we'll see how adaptable Hale is.
Elsewhere, Maeve's storyline is heading towards chaos: now that she knows what Westworld is, she blackmails the techs into helping her escape. That will lead to a colossal crescendo sometime down the line. Contrastingly, William and Dolores ride off into the sunset, and although Lawrence forewarned them of trouble that lay where they were headed, they're in no immediate danger and this storyline's conclusion is therefore more open than the others. Anything could await them.
No Man in Black. Almost forgot about him. Ah well. Maybe next time.
VIEWERS: 1.745m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8
(Both tick up)
(Both tick up)
VERDICT: The slow build-up is actually getting to something as characters butt horns. Dat ending scene doe. 8.5/10
After the brilliant ending to episode 7, I was eagerly anticipating episode 8. Although it followed on from Theresa's murder (in a clever role reversal as Ford began talking to the Host Bernard), it felt like a sudden filler that had no new shocks to offer.
Meanwhile, Maeve's increased intelligence allows her to take a further step by blackmailing the techs to give her control of the Hosts, and as she returned to Westworld she altered narratives by simply talking. I'm not sure what the endgame is for this or how it connects with Ford's greater plan to keep his vice grip on Westworld (since this close to the end the two arcs are horribly disconnected and Ford's focus seems solely to be on keeping Hale at bay), or even if it does connect at all.
Hale's displeasure at Theresa's death was evident throughout the episode, as she tried rigidly to readjust her plan by sweet-talking Director of Narrative Lee Sizemore into replacing her and updating a Host (the man who played Dolores's father in episode 1) for her nefarious means. Dolores and Teddy, the latter of whom had something of a heart-to-heart with the Man in Black, both continued glitching - and more seriously. With Maeve in control now, and seemingly nobody aware of this, I can't predict what's going to happen at all.
Westworld - 1x08 "Trace Decay"
"Hale adjusts her plan after Theresa's murder, which Ford has Bernard cover up. Maeve instructs Felix and Sylvester to give her control of the Hosts. Dolores continues glitching."
After the brilliant ending to episode 7, I was eagerly anticipating episode 8. Although it followed on from Theresa's murder (in a clever role reversal as Ford began talking to the Host Bernard), it felt like a sudden filler that had no new shocks to offer.
Meanwhile, Maeve's increased intelligence allows her to take a further step by blackmailing the techs to give her control of the Hosts, and as she returned to Westworld she altered narratives by simply talking. I'm not sure what the endgame is for this or how it connects with Ford's greater plan to keep his vice grip on Westworld (since this close to the end the two arcs are horribly disconnected and Ford's focus seems solely to be on keeping Hale at bay), or even if it does connect at all.
Hale's displeasure at Theresa's death was evident throughout the episode, as she tried rigidly to readjust her plan by sweet-talking Director of Narrative Lee Sizemore into replacing her and updating a Host (the man who played Dolores's father in episode 1) for her nefarious means. Dolores and Teddy, the latter of whom had something of a heart-to-heart with the Man in Black, both continued glitching - and more seriously. With Maeve in control now, and seemingly nobody aware of this, I can't predict what's going to happen at all.
VIEWERS: 1.777m
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 0.8
(Almost identical to the previous week)
(Almost identical to the previous week)
VERDICT: A very unclear episode that didn't have anything to match the reveal of the previous episode. The most interesting characters today just ... weren't. 6.5/10
In the penultimate episode of Westworld's first season, a huge focus was given to Bernard's quest for answers. Needing leverage to make Ford talk, he hacks Clementine so that she will hold Ford at gunpoint. Ford explains that Bernard himself is based upon his partner, Arnold, right before Ford pulls the rug out and reveals he was in control the whole time - and forces Bernard to commit suicide. I think I always knew Ford wasn't ever in danger here, but Bernard killing himself? If he's permanently lost, that's a huge thing for the show to have done - and how will that bleed into the Arnold mythology in the final episode: help or hinder? It probably, however, leaves Ford open to wage full-out war on Delos just as he tries to bring his new narrative into being.
Maeve convincing Hector to help her escape was a small subplot in the grand scheme of the episode, but it didn't need to be more than that, because now she has an ally their flight will coincide with Ford's war - and the techs Felix and Sylvester will get caught right in the middle of it. Meanwhile, Dolores's escape confuses me (what does it build up to?), but William's sudden turn to "black hat" - or at least his sudden shedding of his conscience - is a mouthwatering prospect. I couldn't tell you what happened with Teddy, whose search for Wyatt continues, but Charlotte Hale's meeting with the Man in Black suggests he's involved with Delos's coup, but he is determined to steer clear of it to continue his search for the Maze.
Whatever is to come in the final episode, it's big.
VERDICT: The final steps have been taken to set up the upcoming wars, with as many questions answered as asked. And it was done with tremendous simplicity after the heavy setting introduction in previous episodes. 8/10
Westworld's 90-minute finale was a feature-length answer to a slowly built-up season, and validated as many internet fan theories as it disproved. The Man in Black did transpire to be William, proving that the series had been showing multiple timelines and that everything with William and Logan was 3 decades in the past. Dolores was revealed to be both Wyatt and the person who killed Arnold, which she did closer to 34/35 years into the past and proving that the conversations of consciousness between Dolores and Bernard that stumped a few people (OK, that stumped me) were actually between Dolores and Arnold 34/35 years ago, before Arnold programmed her to slaughter the Hosts to prevent the park opening.
The conclusion to Maeve's escape was so simple yet so unexpected (again, maybe only for me), but when you're watching AI evolve you (I) forget (forgot) that this could all be another manipulation - which it was. Of course this wasn't going unnoticed, but I didn't think it was controlled. Maeve was programmed to escape Westworld, but in the end returned for her daughter. One unanswered question there (and a suspicion of mine that I've not seen mentioned anywhere else I've looked) is whether that change of heart from Maeve was programmed or not. I don't reckon she made that choice of her own volition given every other step was pre-planned, but then again it doesn't quite tally with the season's final revelation. Bear with me, there's a little more to explain before we get there.
Ford reveals to the Man in Black/William that the Maze was merely another simple narrative, although Dolores later reaches true consciousness by accepting her reality, just in time for Ford's final speech to the gathered Delos board members. Ford, who revealed previously that he hadn't been preventing the Hosts reaching consciousness (after a change of heart following Arnold's death), and instead was buying time for them to acclimate and prepare, criticised the Delos board for their exploitative actions and revealed they would all be part of his new narrative, before Dolores shot him point blank in the head and an army of Hosts began to slaughter the board members. William/Man in Black watched on, delighted, as the chaos ensued, because his own dream to see Westworld's Hosts evolve finally came true.
And there we have it. I'm not sure much has been left unanswered that will spill over into season 2 (and without Ford that's a big transition), but Westworld won't be back until at least 2018 so we don't have to worry about it for a long, long time. Take a bow, Jonah Nolan.
Westworld - 1x09 "The Well-Tempered Clavier" (penultimate episode)
"Bernard corners Ford and demands to have his removed memories returned to him. Dolores escapes from Logan, leading William to confront his brother-in-law-to-be and demand they find her. Maeve convinces Hector to help her escape the park."
In the penultimate episode of Westworld's first season, a huge focus was given to Bernard's quest for answers. Needing leverage to make Ford talk, he hacks Clementine so that she will hold Ford at gunpoint. Ford explains that Bernard himself is based upon his partner, Arnold, right before Ford pulls the rug out and reveals he was in control the whole time - and forces Bernard to commit suicide. I think I always knew Ford wasn't ever in danger here, but Bernard killing himself? If he's permanently lost, that's a huge thing for the show to have done - and how will that bleed into the Arnold mythology in the final episode: help or hinder? It probably, however, leaves Ford open to wage full-out war on Delos just as he tries to bring his new narrative into being.
Maeve convincing Hector to help her escape was a small subplot in the grand scheme of the episode, but it didn't need to be more than that, because now she has an ally their flight will coincide with Ford's war - and the techs Felix and Sylvester will get caught right in the middle of it. Meanwhile, Dolores's escape confuses me (what does it build up to?), but William's sudden turn to "black hat" - or at least his sudden shedding of his conscience - is a mouthwatering prospect. I couldn't tell you what happened with Teddy, whose search for Wyatt continues, but Charlotte Hale's meeting with the Man in Black suggests he's involved with Delos's coup, but he is determined to steer clear of it to continue his search for the Maze.
Whatever is to come in the final episode, it's big.
VIEWERS: 2.086m (Second time Westworld's pulled over 2m. Great!)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0 (Season high by a huge margin!)
Westworld - 1x10 "The Bicameral Mind" (season finale)
"Maeve, Hector and Armistice make their escape from Westworld. The identities of Wyatt and Arnold's killer is exposed as the Man in Black reaches the end of his search for the Maze; Ford invites the cunning Delos board members to the inauguration of his new narrative."
Westworld's 90-minute finale was a feature-length answer to a slowly built-up season, and validated as many internet fan theories as it disproved. The Man in Black did transpire to be William, proving that the series had been showing multiple timelines and that everything with William and Logan was 3 decades in the past. Dolores was revealed to be both Wyatt and the person who killed Arnold, which she did closer to 34/35 years into the past and proving that the conversations of consciousness between Dolores and Bernard that stumped a few people (OK, that stumped me) were actually between Dolores and Arnold 34/35 years ago, before Arnold programmed her to slaughter the Hosts to prevent the park opening.
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| Dolores is created by Arnold |
Ford reveals to the Man in Black/William that the Maze was merely another simple narrative, although Dolores later reaches true consciousness by accepting her reality, just in time for Ford's final speech to the gathered Delos board members. Ford, who revealed previously that he hadn't been preventing the Hosts reaching consciousness (after a change of heart following Arnold's death), and instead was buying time for them to acclimate and prepare, criticised the Delos board for their exploitative actions and revealed they would all be part of his new narrative, before Dolores shot him point blank in the head and an army of Hosts began to slaughter the board members. William/Man in Black watched on, delighted, as the chaos ensued, because his own dream to see Westworld's Hosts evolve finally came true.
And there we have it. I'm not sure much has been left unanswered that will spill over into season 2 (and without Ford that's a big transition), but Westworld won't be back until at least 2018 so we don't have to worry about it for a long, long time. Take a bow, Jonah Nolan.
VIEWERS: 2.240m (season high!)
DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0 (equal)
VERDICT: Another over-long, frustratingly slow episode that spent most of its time answering questions before a blistering final few minutes - although I shouldn't have to wait that long. 7.5/10
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
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Final thoughts
So that's it: Westworld's ten-episode first season is concluded, and has been met with a season 2 renewal. The second season is not expected to air until 2018.
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